Stamp order and delivery case.



No. 643,992. Patented Feb. 20, |900'. W. 0. TAYLOR. STAMP URDER AND DELIVERY CASE.

(Application led Mar.

29, 1897. Renewed Aug, 8, 1899.)

2 Sheets-Sheet l.

(N0 Mdel.)

FIG. 6.

No. 643,992. Patentedreb. 2o, |900. w. o. TAYLUR.

STAMPORDER AND DELIVERY CASE. l

(Application med um. 29,-189'7.- Reewed Aug. s, 1399.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet '2,

I U. S. Official Stamp Selling Envelope. f (PATENT PENDING.)

l This Envelope is the property of the United States.

(lne, Tfn nntl tlve cent postage stamps, in the followlnglqnmxtities, only, viz.: 5'* g 5 ones zr, ones 7 5 Twos 25 Twns will he delivered by Letter Carriers to users of the oti'tenlly adopted Hanse-tlollectlen-nnd-llellvery Boxes, when ordered in this envelnpe necordlng ta the following directions: .'limk with neroas the sqtmre, (thus X on order slip, opposite the number and da I nunllnntiun ofstnxnps you wnnt delivered to yen ur it' ynn wLsh to post unstnmped mutter, indicata that in the place provided, in the .sxnne manner. Write plnnly name und address on lines indicated on order allp. Ilncc in this envelope the order sllp, with the :rari

nmonnt ol' mnney tn pay for stamps ordered, and in such manner that carrier cnn read order and cenni. nmney, withontrenmvlng either from the en velupe. Festen end of order slip te the envelope front in the lnnnner provided, und post the sume in your honse letter box is yen would an ordinary letter. The carrier will deliver the stumps in this regnlntlon envelope on trst trip ntler the enllection nterder; and where nnstnlnped mutter is posted with l'neney to puy postage for same n tirs! trlp and postage will be ntixed to it nl the Post. (mice, nntl it will be forwarded by tlrst in' not correspond with cost nfetrxnps unit-red. the carrier will lnnnuiintel)` return thevnveloy Ummmpcd mutter will In contenga by mln-ters, when mund tu lnx, wgether wln mi money equal to nit pnngu ntthe nnnnmpetl umm-1rA l'mrim ummm "mkv t-imnge, nml m basin-vs,

All )instill regulations ineullxbitttt with this intlvr simil ln an nnnntletlets in rnnl'nrln tu ils l (SIGNED) 'H. l.A l i505'.

directed ltewill collect sinne on Enclosed find: cents, postage on unstamped letters." 5 cents.to pay for 5 one cent stamps E 25 cents 25 one Elio cents 5 two E 50 cents 25 two 7 E IO cents 2 five cents to pay for special delivery stamps to be affixed at Post Otce. Write the word "specav on upperright hand corner of envelope to which you wish special delivery stamps axecl.

Name

Address Enclosed find: cents, postage on unstamped letlers,

E cents to pav for 5 one cent stamps E] 25 cents 25 one lj l0 cents 5 two 9 D 50 cents 25 twoy 7 I, m l0 cents `2 fve I of envelope to which you wish special delivery stamps afxed.

TH: mams ecrans co PnoTo-Llmn., wils-nunon4 o. c,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VILLIAM O. TAYLOR, OF NORRISTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE POSTAL IMPROVEMENT COMPANY, OF l/VHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA. Y

` STAM P ORDER AND DELIVERY CAS-E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 643,992, dated February 20, 1900. nppiicaion'iealvrmhze,1897. Rtneeeaiugua 8,1899. senato. 726,597. (Nomad.)

'To @ZZ whom t may concern:

reference being had to .the accompanyingv drawings, in Whiche Figure l is a longitudinal sectional View, ou

v an enlarged scale, of a stamp order and delivery envelop constructedin accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the same. `Fig. 3 is front View, on a smaller scale, of the envelop prepared for delivery to the mail-carrier and containing an order for stamps. Fig. 4 is aview of theenvelop as delivered by the mail-carrier containing stamps to fill said order. Fig. 5 is a View of the order-sheet removed from the envelop. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section of an envelop and order-sheet designed for the continued use of the same order-sheet, and Fig. 7 is a similar view of another form ot' envelop and order-sheet designed for the same purpose. v

The postal department of the Governmentv has recently undertaken to utilize the mailcarriers as a means whereby the purchase of stamps is facilitated, an added duty of each carrier being to receive orders for stamps from persons located on his route and to de liver the stamps so ordered. Such method of purchasing stamps is facilitated by the use, which in some cities has become quite extensive, of house mail-boxes having provision both for receiving mail-matter and for delivering mail-matter to the carrier.

The requirements of a perfected plan of selling postage-stamps through the medium of the mail-carrier are as follows:

First. The buyer should be enabled to order, pay for, and receive stamps Without the necessity of seeing the carrier, as this would necessitate watching for his arrival and oftentimes result in undue delay in the Work of the carrier.

Second. The delivery of stamps should be made by the carrier-at the same time the order vwith the money to pay for the stamps is received by him, thus avoiding any delay to the buyer and making it unnecessary for the carrier to return on another trip to deliver the stam ps. It is obvious, too, that immediate exchange of stamps for money will reduce to a minimum the liability of loss or error and the amountfof time and labor required to effect the transaction.

Third. If for any reason the plan of'imme diate delivery of stamps by the carrier'is not adopted, the carrier simply taking orders to the post-office and returning With the stamps on his next round, the order-card should be returned in the same inclosure with the stamps, and both stamps and order-card, with the name and address of the person ordering,

should be in plain sight Without opening said inclosure.

Fourth. The purchaser should be enabled to buy stamps in stated amounts only in or der to facilitate the transaction, and to this same end the purchaser should be required to furnish the exact sum to pay forv the stamps ordered.

Fifth. The purchase-money for stamps of but one hand be enabled to verify theg amount.

- Sixth. It' the carrier should find a shortage l in the money presented in payment for stamps ordered, he should be protected against a possible charge of having removed yor taken any of the money. y

Seventh. For the protection of the purchaser stamps should be delivered in such form and manner that if there should be an error or shortage in them as delivered the purchaser could establish this fact.

Eighth. Provision should be made against the liability of stamps Ybecoming damaged through being carried about, thus avoiding inconvenience or loss either to the buyer, post-oflce, or carrier.

IOO

Ninth. Provision should be made against liability of a carrier taking an order from a box Without noticing it. This might easily happen if an order were deposited with other mattei' for collection unless some provision were made for bringing the order to the notice of the carrier.

Tenth. An intending purchaser whenever giving an order for stamps should have at hand instructions as to the proper method of ordering and paying for the stamps in order to obviate the delay which might otherwise be caused by failure to comply with the prescribed conditions.

For the purpose of meeting all of these requirements I have devised what may be termed a stamp order and delivery case, the construction and use of which I will now proceed to describe, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

The stamp order or delivery case or envelop consists of a front l and back 2, both of which should be of celluloid, mica, gelatin, or other transparent material. Between the front and back of the envelop, at the top, bottom, and one end of the same, are interposed nari-oT strips or filling-pieces 4, so as to separate the front and back of the envelop to any desired extent, and at'the remaining end of the envelop both the front and back of the same are preferably bound, as shown at 5, to protect their edges, the binding being comparatively deep, so as to provide surfaces of considerable width, to either of which may be secured a flap upon an order-card, to be inserted in the envelop, as hereinafter explained. Around the top, bottom, and closed end of the envelop also extends an outer binding 6, so as to hold the various parts ofthe envelop together and impart to it strength sufficient to resist any rough handling to which it may be subjected. The order-sheet 7 to be used in connection with this envelop has printed upon one face information as to the number and denomination of the stamps likely to be furnished by this method, together with spaces for the name and address of the person ordering the stamps, as shown in Fig. 3, and said order-card also has by preference at one end a flap 9 and at'the other end a iiap 10, each of these iiaps being gummed upon one side. Upon the back of the order-sheet are instructions as to the proper method of ordering and paying for stamps, as shown in Fig. 4. A stamp order and delivery envelop of this character provides for various methods of ordering and delivering stamps-for instance, according to one method the letter-carrier is provided with like envelops containing blank order-cards and stamps in quantity and denomination to lill any of the orders for which the order-card is designed. The householder marks upon the order-card the number and denomination of stamps required and deposits in the envelop, with the order-card and between the same and the transparent front of the envelop-coins or notes of sufficient value to pay for the stamps ordered and then seals down the iiap 9 upon the binding 5 of the front of the envelop, so as to close the open end of the envelop and prevent the abstraction of either order-card or money therefrom without destroying the iiap, so that the carrier is protected from any charge of abstracting money from the envelop. On receiving such an order-envelop from a house letter-box and verifying the correctness of its contents the carrier immediately deposits in the receiving-compartment ot' the box a sealed envelop containing stamps in number and denomination as ordered, carrying with him to the post-office when he returns there the envelop containing the order and money in payment therefor. Vhen the envelop is received at the post-ofiice, the proper attendant pulls olf the sealed flap and removes the order-card and money from the envelop, the internal iiap of the order-card facilitating the withdrawal of the money from the envelop' by engaging with the same and causing its Withdrawal simultaneously with the ordercard.

If the amount of money contained in the envelop with an order-card is not the proper amount to be paid for the stamps ordered on said card, the carrier places the sealed envelop in the receiving-compartment of the letter-box, so that When the householder rcmoves the mail-matter from said receivingcompartment he finds the order-envelop and contents returned to him intact in order that the mistake may be corrected, and if on receiving a sealed envelop containing stamps ordered by him he iinds upon inspection of the stamps through the transparent side of the envelop that the number and denomination of the stamps contained therein do not agree with the order-card he can immediately return the envelop intact to the delivery-compartment of the box, so that in making his next round the carrier may return the envelop to the post-oice for correction of the mistake. In no case, therefore, does the carrier have access to the contents of the envelop whether such contents are stamps or cash. Hence no opportunity is aiforded for peculation by the carrier, nor can he reasonably be accused of such peculation. If a mistake is made by the householder, the envelop is returned without being opened, and the same is true in the case of a mistake by the earrier. As a modification of this plan the let- IOO IIO

ter-carrier may be supplied With a number of stamps of each denomination for which the order-card is intended and upon receiving an order-case containing an order for stamps with the proper amount of cash to pay for the same he may select from his stock stamps in number and denomination sufticient to fill the order, and after tearingoff the flap 9 of the order-card and removing said card and the money from the envelop he may place in the envelop the desired stamps, reinsert the order-card, and seal down the iiap 10 upon that face of the envelop between which and the order-card the stamps are contained, so that the stamps cannot be removed without tearing o said flap l0. The envelop, with the stamps contained in it, can then be immediately deposited by the carrier in the letter-box with other mail-matter which he may be delivering at the time.

By another method thel letter-carrier does not act directly in the sale of stamps, but simply carries the order for stamps, with the accompanying cash, from the householder to the post-office, where the order is filled by inserting the required stamps in the envelop, together with the order-card, resealing the latter by means of the Hap 10, and returning the envelop, with its order-card and stamps, to the householder on the letter-carriers next round. The stamps being inserted between the back of the card and one transparent face of the envelop and the order being visible through the other face of the envelop, the name and address of the person ordering the stamps are visible to the carrier, and both the order and stamps being in view it can be readily seen without opening the envelop whether the'order has or has not been properly lled.

In cases where it is desired to use the same order-card for a considerable period I can adopt the method of fastening shown in Fig. 6, using any ordinary form of separable fastening, one portion l2 of which is secured to the bound edge of the transparent face of the envelop, while the other portion of the fastening is secured to the outer flap of the order-card, so that the envelop can be sealed and unsealed without removing or mutilating said flap. In another form of this envelop the fastening device may be upon the face only of the envelop, as shown in Fig. 7.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The combination of an envelop having a transparent front with a card adapted to fit within said envelop, said card having folded flaps at both the inner and outer ends, and provision for securing either flap to that portion of the envelop over which it is folded.

2. An envelop consisting of a back, a transparent front, and a border connecting them around the top, bottom and one end of the envelop, the back and front being disconnected at the other end of the envelop and the border on the front of the envelop at said open end being widened.

3. An envelop consisting of a back, a transparent front, a border connecting them together around the top, bottom and one end of the envelop, and independent borders for the back and front at the open end of the envelop.

4:. An envelop consisting of aback, a transparent front, a border connecting them together around the top, bottom and one end of the envelop, and independent borders for the back and front at the open end of the envelop, said. independent borders being Wider than the border around the top, bottom and end.

5. An envelop consisting of a transparent front and back, united around the top, bot tom and one end of the envelop, but disconnected at the other end, a stamp-order card adapted to fltin said envelop, and provision for securing a sealing-flap to both the front and back of the envelop at the open end of the same.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM O. TAYLOR.

Witnesses:

F. E. BEcHToLD, Jos. H. KLEIN. 

